Chapter 163 - 163 Not Born a Princess, Acts like a Princess
163 Not Born a Princess, Acts like a Princess
Before Xie Yunjin could speak, Classmate Han excitedly told everyone, “Yunjin’s wife is an amazing cook. Her dishes are on par with restaurant food. Ah no, her food is better.”
Classmate Han felt that Yunjin’s wife’s cooking gave him lots of energy.
Since Classmate Han was friendly towards Xie Yunjin, Lu Jiao used a few drops of spiritual stream water in her cooking last time. Therefore, he felt energized after he ate.
Today, however, Lu Jiao had no plans on using spiritual stream water. This Zheng Zhixing made her annoyed so she wasn’t going to add any spiritual stream water.
Zheng Zhixing and the others didn’t believe Classmate Han at all. Still, they politely thanked Lu Jiao, “Thank you.”
“Sorry for the trouble.”
Lu Jiao shook her head and went to prepare lunch.
The moment she walked out of the room, however, someone rushed inside in a hurry. It was her sister-in-law, Xie Lan.
When Xie Lan saw Lu Jiao, her expression fell. However, she adjusted herself and came to greet Lu Jiao.
“Third sister-in-law, mom said you must be too busy having to take care of my third brother and the four little ones. She asked me to come and help you out.”
Lu Jiao stared at her in disbelief. Was the Sun rising from the wrong side this morning? Why was she here? She must have an agenda.
Lu Jiao remembered Xie Lan’s age and how she’s been meaning to find someone to marry. Could it be that she came today after she heard that Yunjin’s classmates were visiting?
Lu Jiao thought about the four men inside the room. Classmate Han had a wife but she wasn’t sure about the others. Based on their age, however, they were likely married.
After all, during this era, everyone married early. Even those who weren’t likely won’t be interested in Xie Lan.
Lu Jiao bluntly ordered Xie Lan, “Then cut some firewood for me. I need them later.”
Xie Lan’s face froze as she turned to stare at the pile of wood. Though she was a countryside woman, she’s never had to use an ax. Those kinds of things were normally done by her second brother.
Xie Lan wanted to decline but remembered her mother’s orders. Her mother asked her to come today to first, help repair the relationship she had with her third brother.
Second, her mother was worried about that contract. Her mother didn’t feel comfortable knowing that the contract was lying around so she wanted Xie Lan to come and try to get it back. If Xie Lan fails to convince her third brother and sister-in-law to return the contract, then she could try to steal it.
Xie Lan originally declined but when she heard about her brother’s classmates being here, she changed her mind.
She was already 17 and was still unmarried. If this continues, she’ll end up marrying those farmers from the village. How could she let that happen? Therefore, she came over right after she heard about Xie Yunjin’s classmates.
Since Xie Lan wasn’t moving, Lu Jiao raised her voice, “What is it? You don’t want to help me with the firewood? Then-”
Xie Lan immediately stopped Lu Jiao, “Third sister-in-law, I’ll do it.”
She then went to get the wood.
Lu Jiao, however, didn’t walk away and started to point fingers as Xie Lan worked, “Raise your arm higher, that will give you more strength. The way your arm is raised cannot break any wood. What is it? Did you not eat? Raise your arm! Yes, that’s right. Aim well, and cut decisively.
Sister-in-law, I’m not trying to give you a hard time. But what will you do once you marry? You were not born a princess yet you have all the problems a princess has. Are you really planning on buying a servant who can take care of you? No family can afford that.”
Lu Jiao spoke with a smile on her face while Xie Lan wanted to curse. Every time she saw Lu Jiao’s face, however, she was scared off. That woman handled her parents, let alone her.
Xie Lan started to cry. She cried while she chopped wood.
After a few more minutes of instructions, Lu Jiao went to prepare lunch.
Since there were four guests, she ended up taking out all the food she bought in town last time.
There was chicken, duck, fish, and pork. There were also gifts from the villagers. All that was enough to fill a table.
Spicy chicken, long beans with duck, braised fish, jalapeno with pork stir fry, shrimp with vegetables, steamed egg with green onion, smashed cucumber, chive pockets, and yam with mushroom ears.
Mushroom ears were given by the villagers and the yams were found by Lu Jiao when she went up in the mountains.
At this time, yam was still mostly used for medicine and most people didn’t know it could be used to make food with. Lu Jiao took the chance and made it into a dish.
At the dining table, Zheng Zhixing and the others now believed what Classmate Han said. The food was insanely visually pleasing and they just knew they would taste delicious.
Zheng Zhixing saw the food and couldn’t help but check out Lu Jiao for a few seconds. He realized that this woman had lost a considerable amount of weight since he saw her last. As it turned out, she was pretty. Her skin, in particular, was pale like jade. She didn’t look at all like a countryside housewife.
Xie Yunjin noticed the look in Zheng Zhixing’s eyes and quickly turned unpleasant. With his face droopy, he said, “Okay, let’s sit and eat.”
There were lots of people today so the table couldn’t fit everyone. Lu Jiao brought inside the old broken table and placed it before Xie Yunjin.
She said to the four little ones, “There are lots of guests here today. How about you sit here and eat with daddy?”
The four little ones glanced at everyone and agreed. Daddy had taught them once that visitors are respectable guests. They were the hosts and should accommodate.
“Okay, mommy.”
Lu Jiao smiled in satisfaction. She got a portion of all the dishes into their bowls and placed them on the small table. She also filled a bowl for Xie Yunjin. Only then did she ask the guests to come and eat.
“My home is old and dirty. Please don’t mind.”
Zheng Zhixing responded in a nice tone this time, “We are the ones interrupting your day.”
Li Wenbin smiled, “Lady Lu, you are such a good cook, not like my wife, whose cooking is barely edible.”
Countryside women normally make sure the food is cooked through. They don’t care about the taste because they didn’t have the conditions to.
Zheng Zhixing responded quickly, “Your wife needs to cook herself? Don’t you have servants?”
Li Wenbin quickly became uncomfortable. Lu Jiao knew right away there was a story there and tried to change the subject.
“Okay, let’s eat. The food is getting cold.”
Everyone sat down to eat.
Since Xie Yunjin was injured and had to eat in bed, Lu Jiao had to eat with everyone as the host.
However, sitting at their table was also Xie Lan.